From the Co-Headteachers

It has been a successful week with our learning walks demonstrating how, within classrooms, our students are having lots of opportunities to read aloud, generate discussion and even lead on debates.

Two key features of this high-quality classroom work includes, first, using standard English at all times and, second, not “rounding-up”. This latter feature refers to the importance of students providing full and technically complete answers rather that text message-like, short and sharp responses. Given that good readers become good speakers, and good speakers become good writers, a whole school focus on these types of literacy are vitally important.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind parents/carers of the forthcoming teacher strike days: Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 March. Check the notice later in this newsletter about which year groups are being invited into school over these two strike days.

Finally, throughout this newsletter you will find an array of opportunities for your son/ward to “buy-in”. Please reflect on these outstanding curriculum and enrichment opportunities: Does your son/ward buy-in? Do you encourage him to buy-in? How do you know he buys-in?

Do you have any comments on this newsletter, good or bad? We are very grateful for any feedback you may give via this link. Please note that all comments are anonymous – if you have specific school queries, please contact us through the usual channels.

Simon Fisher and Jo Higginbottom

Pre-Public Exams – Done!

Students in Year 11 and Year 13 completed their Pre-Public Examinations today (Friday). These internal assessments were the last chance for students to hone their strengths and iron out their weaknesses ahead of their public exams this summer. All week, students sat practice papers in full exam conditions – we were very impressed with student conduct throughout. Well done, everyone!

Club of the Week – Chess

Location: Library
Who: All years
When: Friday, 3.05 – 4.05pm

Come and join our student-run Chess Club! Whether you are a beginner or an aspiring Grand Master, come and pit your wits against students from all year groups. This was an initiative set up by a Year 11 student and we are very impressed by the willingness of students to extend their week to play this wonderful game. Come and join the fun!

There really is something for everyone within our extra-curricular programme, with activities taking place on every day! Please do check out the full list of opportunities if you haven’t already!

Pride of House

Another 40 students have been given a Pride of House award by their tutor this week. It is richly deserved for a fantastic contribution to school life – these students are everything an Isleworthian should be! Celebrate the full roster via the house badges below.

House Point Champions

A new weekly feature! In school, students earn house points for outstanding contributions in all aspects of school life including lessons, PPA (homework), extra-curricular opportunities, student leadership and citizenship. At various milestones, certificates are awarded. See below for our top students – 28 in total – who have reached either Prestige (300 house points) or Diamond (200) so far this year. We will update this weekly.

Prestige

  • Ken BURDEN (10Ad)

Diamond

  • David ALI (9Sn)
  • Kip BARCLAY-HARDING (7Ad)
  • Tyler BARRETT (8Ad)
  • Freddie BAXTER (8Ad)
  • Roo CLARK (7Sn)
  • RJ CLARKE (7Ad)
  • Asher COLACO (7Am)
  • George DAVIES (8Tr)
  • Ted EAST (8Tr)
  • Christopher EDWARDS (9Tu)
  • Sebastian GHIORGHICA (9Sh)
  • Isaac HANNA (10Tu)
  • Sami KHALIFA (8Tu)
  • Ashish KURIAN (9Sn)
  • Alex LARBY (8Tu)
  • Lachie MACINTYRE (7Ad)
  • Ahmad MIRZAI (7Ad)
  • George MOORE (7Ad)
  • Luke O’CONNELL (9Ad)
  • Manav PATEL (7Bl)
  • Pavle RAJLIC (9Ad)
  • Abdullah SABRI (8Am)
  • Asif SHAH (7Am)
  • Randeep SINGH (9Tu)
  • Harry STOCKS (7Sn)
  • Ranveer THAKUR (7Br)
  • Kairan Dominic ZINGAPAN (10Tu)

Strike Action – 15 and 16 March

On Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 March, the National Education Union (NEU) have planned two days of strike action. This means that:

  • School will be closed to most students in Years 8, 9 and 10.
  • Some selected students have been invited into school – they have received separate communications.
  • All Year 7, Year 11, Year 12 and Year 13 students should attend school as normal.

Safeguarding – Mental Health

All parents/carers, staff and students should be aware of the negative impact of poor mental health on both academic progress as well as the ability of young people to socially interact.

This is particularly pertinent when students are undertaking internal assessments and external examinations. On an almost daily basis, key common messages to share with your son/ward should include:

  • Connect
  • Keep active
  • Take notice
  • Keep learning
  • Give (time and compliments)

If you have a concern about the safety or welfare of your child, please email the safeguarding team at safeguarding@isleworthsyon.org. If there is an emergency call 999 or, for non-urgent matters that require police attention, call 101. 

Coming Up!

  • Thursday 16 March – Key Stage 4 Courses Evening (Year 9)
  • Thursday 23 March – Year 10 Parents/Carers Evening
  • Thursday 30 March – Drama & Music Festival
  • Friday 31 March – End of Spring Term (students dismissed at 12.30pm)

Word of the Week

The word of the week is professional.

News

Partnerships in Action – featuring The Prime Minister!

We have a multitude of highly effective working relationships with a range of organisations across London and the UK. One of these is Sport Impact, a team of PE teachers who work in local Hounslow schools supporting the delivery of PE, sport and physical activity.

This week, as part of International Women’s Day, the Sport Impact team were teaching girls football in Downing Street with Rishi Sunak as an active onlooker and referee – check out the Prime Minister’s I&S lanyard, alongside Lionesses Beth Mead and Jill Scott!

As a school, we proudly fund and support Sport Impact, raising levels of physical literacy and fitness among children and young people across our borough.

Photo credit: Simon Walker / No 10 Downing Street

Badminton – Borough Champs!

Earlier this week, our Key Stage 4 badminton team won the borough championships. Incredibly, this is the thirteenth year in a row that Isleworth & Syon have been the best in the borough at this level!

Our ‘A’ team were the winners, while our ‘B’ team finished runners-up, establishing Isleworth & Syon dominance over other schools from across Hounslow. It was a fantastic performance from the teams, who are ably coached and led by Miss George.

Special mention must go as well to our eight young leaders from Key Stage 3, who supported throughout the event.

Well done to the squad – Nishant Brahmbhatt, Alex Goldsmith, Siwon Gurung, Max Manson, Mihai Nagy-Montenegro, Elliott Powell, Varun Thakur, Orion Timperley, Rory Williams and Kairan Dominic Zingapan!

National Youth Theatre Auditions

Last Saturday, we were thrilled to team up with the National Youth Theatre (NYT) for a very special opportunity.

For those who don’t know, the NYT is Britain’s most prestigious drama company for young people. It has been the launching pad for many British actors, including Idris Elba, Helen Mirren and Daniel Craig. We have had significant success in the past, with 12 students becoming company members.

Ordinarily, students organise this independently of the school. This year, the NYT offered to come to schools; this took place on the Saturday, with students doing a three-hour workshop with a trained practitioner and then completing their audition. Good luck to the 29 students who auditioned – we are waiting to hear the outcome!

‘Macbeth’ Performance

A few weeks ago, we wrote about a very special Shakespeare performance by a travelling theatre company, The Globe Players. Last week, it was Year 9’s turn to be wowed by their performance of the famous text, ‘Macbeth’. The boys are currently studying the play in their English lessons, their first exposure to the famous writer’s work. We all remember how daunting it can be to work out Shakespeare’s language, but the Globe Players’ performance helped make it more accessible by explaining key passages during the performance. The boys had a great time – especially during the famous dagger sequence!

‘King Lear’ Production

Sticking with the Shakespeare theme, but at the other end of the school – our Year 13 English literature students headed to the National Theatre Archives in London for a special staging of ‘King Lear’. Another of Shakespeare’s famous tragedies, this is students’ set A level text – so seeing it in performance was a vital tool to prepare them for their summer exams. Students loved the production, and came away full of ideas to take back to the classroom!

Old Vic Schools Club

On Wednesday, Miss Thomson took a selected group of students to the Old Vic theatre for a fabulous production of the musical, ‘Sylvia’.

This year, we are part of the Old Vic Schools Club, part of the theatre’s outreach programme. Students have access to four free shows a year as well as four workshops in school with theatre staff, which introduce the plays’ themes and ideas. Students were selected for the club as a reward for commitment to drama; it is certainly a prestigious opportunity.

This particular workshop and production were well-enjoyed by everyone involved; indeed, Amrit Grewal said “I loved it,” while Nirvaan Assi stated that “the music definitely exceeded my expectations!”